Posted on by vikasshirodkar

Scavengers : a misunderstood lot

Afore Script: typically “scavengers” refer to animals who live off other dead animals. They too serve a purpose. But I want to talk about scavenging as burrowing through dirt or garbage, to retrieve something useful.

One of my early, yet strong, memory of impact of literature on my mind was reading a description in a Tennessee Williams’ play. Tennessee always wrote about “marginal” characters, people living on the fringes of society. I have forgotten which play it was, but he describes a scene where a poor, decrepit couple are sitting on a heap of left-overs & trash, dumped on the outskirts of the town. And this couple, out of desperation, driven by acute hunger, are scouring the heap of trash & finding small nibbles of food, in the trash dump, & picking that out & eating!!! I was a college student, in my teens, but that image I have carried for 50+ years. To me, that is a nadir of human existence, where humanity can fall!!

That was an American playwright’s visual but India affords us similar sights. Abject poverty & hunger driving people to stoop to any level to feed themselves. So what if it is out of a dustbin or a community trashcan? While it is sad & hurtful to see, we may at the most pay something to the scavengers to go & eat or have a cup of tea. Or most often, shake our heads sagely, then ignore & carry on with our lives!!! Yet when I think more, I am intrigued by the mindset epitomized by the scavengers of searching for something good & converting adversity into opportunity, which is admirable . This blog is on this positive mindset of the scavenging profession, which we can learn from. Finding something useful in a pile of dirt.

Had heard a motivational speaker tell a story of a scavenger which opened my eyes, yet again. There is this small, young girl who has a gunny sack over her back. She is going from one garbage dump to another, in a large housing society. She stops at every garbage can, rummaging inside to see if there is anything worth salvaging, something which is still useful. Every stop she picks out plastic, metal, caps & cans which have been thrown away. And merrily puts those into her gunny sack & moves forward.

All of us have seen such garbage pickers early morning on streets. Roadside dogs, suspicious of this stranger, bark & try to drive her away. The small girl shoos them away if they come too close. And then steadfastly continues her collection! The dogs follow her for a distance & when she turns the corner, return to their “galli”. But the strays of the other lane, start the barking & pursuing. The girl carries on her work. The motivational guru concludes,” ą¤•ą„ą¤¤ą„ą¤¤ą„‡ ą¤­ą„‹ą¤‚ą¤•ą¤¤ą„‡ ą¤°ą¤¹ą„‡, ą¤²ą„‡ą¤•ą¤æą¤Ø ą¤²ą¤”ą¤¼ą¤•ą„€ą¤Øą„‡ ą„­ ą¤—ą¤²ą¤æą¤Æą¤¾ ą¤˜ą„ą¤® ą¤•ą„‡ 18 ą¤°ą„ą¤Ŗą¤Æą„‡ ą¤•ą¤®ą¤¾ ą¤²ą¤æą¤Æą„‡” (Dogs continued to bark, but the girl visited 7 lanes & earned 18 Rs)

To me this story has 2 major learnings: No work is bad if you are focused; there is wealth hidden in the most unlikely places, if you search diligently. And, there will always be detractors….the barking dogs… you must still continue to do what is right by you.

So, I am writing this blog, to extoll the benefits of scavenging. We all must be scavengers in our own right. We must learn to search for good things, useful things everywhere. In people whom we meet, & discard in a jiffy. In relationships which we feel are turned sour. Wherever we are, office, family, friends, acquaintances search for the hidden good. Don’t give up on any place or anyone. Maybe you need to dig deeper, search more, shift thru the dirt yet again. There is hidden value all around you. It will come forth only if your search is diligent & thorough.

People are always a mixed bundle. Like a prospector in a gold mine, we can’t hit gold immediately. We have to sift thru much dirt, clean many many loads of mud & sand. The diamond miner should be our role model. Enter deep. Dig hard. Clean, clean, clean. And then you find the diamond hidden all around you!!!

Look at gold miners : long before any gold can be mined, significant exploration & development needs to take place to extract the gold efficiently, safely & responsibly. It can typically take years before a gold mine is ready to produce material that can be refined into bullion. Do we give so much time to our relationships? People are always a mixed package. Do we have the patience of a miner? are we searching enough? Do we give up too easily?? Our “searching” mindset must be as powerful as the miners‘… Our tools for digging must be sharp. And we must have patience & the faith that the gold is there… around the next interaction, the next project, the next … Our searching mindset must be on continuously like the miner’s headlamp when he is exploring in the mine.

In interactions with people, recollect the jigsaw puzzles you played as children. Each piece is uniquely shaped. Some have corners. Some have sharp edges. But when you find the right piece & its correct placement, it fits beautifully together. And reveals a new picture!!! People in our lives are similar. All are unique. But when they come together & fit in, a beautiful picture emerges.

People in your life add that color & diversity. Give it time & effort. The solutions are all in the jigsaw set itself. You don’t have to throw out any pieces. Or break or re-shape pieces for the solution. Stick with it & the pieces will fall in place. Remember you may not know how your piece fits in, but someone else’s picture would be incomplete without you.

Let me end with another parable. The Greek poet Archilocus pointed out The fox knows many things, but a hedgehog knows one important thing.

There are two types of people in the world: foxes & hedgehogs. This dichotomy describes contrasting cognitive styles, ways of viewing the world. If you adopt fox-like thinking you rely on multiple pieces of information to form your view on an issue, & think about it from different angles. The fox is always exploring & moving around. But if you have a hedgehog mindset, you develop your world views & predictions with a central, overarching principle in mind. Focus & depth. Point to learn for us, people will be different. Blend & get the best from all around you. Learn from all. Search for paydirt, even if it is in dumping yard.

To end: Be a Scavenger. Ignore the barking dogs. Move forward. Remain focused on your goal. Search for the good everywhere. Don’t worry if you get dirty : vikas

30 Replies to “Scavengers : a misunderstood lot”

  2. Such a lovely write-up! When we see rag pickers, what you said is right, we feel pity and give them food or money for a meal and it ends there. You’ve opened up a whole new dimension of looking at them. This is something we should really take from them. Now every time I see one, they are going to remind me of this article and you šŸ¤— And also the other thing about increasing your patience level… So so true! So much to take from this one šŸ’• My morning spent well šŸ«¶šŸ»

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    1. Thanks Priyu for your kind words of encouragement
      That Sardarji story I heard keeps resonating in my ears
      Kutte Bhonkate Rahe aur ladki ne aage badh kar 18 rupaye kama liye
      Epitome of positivity and focus
      so happy you liked the write up

      Like

  3. wow, this blog is amazing… you have woven the starkness of scavenging so beautifully with the lessons that no job is menial and never give up!

    at the end of year, when each of us introspect on the hits, misses, could-haves and should-haves, this blog gives an added perspective to look at the opportunities in the upcoming year…

    on another note, just like scavenging is important but at the same time it is necessary to shed excess baggage… how about a blog on that the next time?

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    1. Praju

      many thanks for your comments

      I purposely wanted to talk about the lessons in scavenging and am happy it is hitting the right notes

      thanks for the suggestion on past baggage as a topic

      certainly worth exploring

      Like

  4. So well said…. Power packed with wisdom in such short narrative…. Given me a new vigour to be a scavenger and renew efforts to uplift every member of the team by identifying something of value… Loved ” finding something useful in piller of dirt ” ., Thank you for this beautiful gift

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  5. This article is an inspiring and thought-provoking piece that convey powerful life lessons. The message to stay resilient and ignore detractors resonates strongly, making it a motivational read.

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  6. Scavenger is basic & principal requirement of society. Scavergers are poor & illerate. We are first culprits who cannot upgrate them. Tell me what educated are doing efforts to upgrade scavengers. In covid time we are not allowing anybody to our steps, but why you are allowing scavengers to your societies & doors. One gentleman told me in our society that we have no direct contact from them. See how is this mentality of higher group of selfishness. Only Central, State Government have laws to coop scavergers from poor cast on sweeper post. But Now a days higher groups rank holder abolished CL IV Class from their services and started Outsourcing, contract services and they are getting less & less and contractors are getting more butter from their bread. In VishnuSahtranam Strotra, first three classes ( Brahmin, Kshatriy and Vaishya ) must satisfy Shramik. then they are allow to take their first loaf of bread. Let me know Vikas, are we doing proper management of these scavergers human resourcing? God Bless you for emerging nice blog.

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    1. Dilip you make a good point. It is the savarna who are to blame for generations of negative conditioning. And Govt has tried to correct the balance. But you will agree in some cases it has been misused and the needle has swung the other way. Much more needs to be done. This is a transgenerational issue and will not get corrected soon My thesis however was a little different. It was the mindset of the scavenger. Finding something useful wherever. That mindset…dignity of labour and searching for the “good” applies to all

      Thanks for your comment & good wishes. Coming from a friend who knows me for so so long it means a lot to me

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  7. Vikas,Exceptional write up! It is because they scavange, the muck is managable.In Marathi, Saint has said:Johar mybaap johar, me maharacha mahar.Ā  It is because some one does the jobs of the type of scavenging,cleaning, the muck,that we see the the thingsĀ  Ā clean. You touched the topic ,otherwise invisible,n not visited.ThanksĀ Suresh OgaleĀ Ā 

    Yahoo Mail: Search, organise, conquer

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    1. Suresh so true
      the scavengers are doing a great service to society
      You reminded me of a Tata PI film on manual scavenging
      There was a school boy who is talking in the school
      Mera Baba desh chalata hai
      nahi hai politician ya police
      lekin mera baba desh chalata hai
      the child goes on to say if Mera Baba scavenging nahi karega to people will get sick and desh band ho jayega
      Scavenger Baba Desh chalata hai
      Did not remember this when I wrote the blog
      But you reminded me
      thanks friend: I owe you

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  8. Very nice and thought provoking blog. Your approach to post blog in non-conventional topics is commendable, that too on less privileged class of the society. The philosophy around the topic is well woven and explained lucidly. Hats off to you, sir!

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    1. Thanks Milind appreciate your kind words. This connect to my readers is what keeps me t=motivated & engaged to write. As regards topic being unconventional, yes it is. Have felt it often. Today had to dawn for me to pen things

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  9. This is one of the best pieces you have ever written!

    You have taken a not-so-appealing thing like scavenging and woven it beautifully into a philosophy. All the points of advice – finding good even in the most unlikely of places / events, patience in relationships, time and effort, doing what is right, etc. are well laid out.

    Anything worthwhile has to be done consciously. A refreshing take using a highly unusual base!

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    1. thanks Amit for your kind words of praise

      yes my main thesis was that we need to keep an open mind

      and we can find much gold if we dig long enough

      focus n positivity is the key

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  10. Hi Vikas, I admire the way youā€™ve turned the road side scavenging into the philosophy of human life in such a flowing thoughtful language. Thanks for opening a new avenue and direction in my mind.

    SDS

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  11. Vikas dada,

    Awesome post indeed. Your best so far as far as the subject and flow of the writing !!

    I especially loved how you urge your reader persevere “In relationships which we feel are turned sour” through this post. While it is definitely worthwhile to find a small treasure in a pile of unwanted stuff, meaningful relationships are the biggest bounty of life afterall. And a conscious investment is required to unearth the hidden potential in them.

    Keep writing and inspiring!

    Nilu

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    1. Nilu
      I hope and pray my best is yet to be.
      Like that fisherman who was complimented for a landing a huge 3 footer carp fish. His response was ” You should have seen the one that got away”
      Jokes apart, feels nice to hear these words of praise from another author
      My flow comes out well as I agonise a lot over the topic before I sit to write
      Most of the thinking is done on my walks….my prime me time
      I have now learnt the discipline of now writing down points on my mobile notes
      as earlier many good ideas and topics just melted away into the blue yonder

      Since I too enjoy it, I will keep writing
      Keep reading and giving me feedback

      Search for the gold by sifting thru the dirt as I said in the blog
      vikas

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  12. Beautifully brought out on a topic considered taboo by some and ignored by many. And then how we can learn from even those who are seemingly so innocuous in Society. Truly, everyone is a teacher, we just need to be observant. Thank you for enlightening us.

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    1. Col.
      the taboos hold a special attraction for me. I feel like challenging them.
      thru my life I have been an iconoclast & a blasphemous person
      When I sat to write….esp the Tennessee story I thought people will get turned off
      Scavenging is dirty
      Scavengers feed on dead animals
      But as I wrote I felt confident it will touch a cord amongst the readers
      Thanks Col for proving me right

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  14. TRUE all of us keep scavenging through out life to satisfy our ego wants desire.Some do it for survival like the girl cmpRest do it thinking that the goal of life.

    But true contentment and happiness comes only the day we stop scavenging.

    Barking dogs are there every nook n corners we need to navigate them

    I have reduced my scavenging a bit and found some peace

    Thanks Sir for showing us a new perspective.

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    1. Pravin
      thanks for your comments
      If scavenging ends with getting what you want I feel there is nothing wrong in it
      My main thesis is
      dont throw the baby with the bath water
      there is plenty of good all around
      you just need to have an open mind & an insight
      I am sure that scavenging is not bad, and you will agree

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  15. Excellent blog, Vikas bhau.

    Scavenging the dustbin of memories which weere discarded can lead to highlighting the need for humility.

    Thanks bhidu ..

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